Helldivers 2’s Crucial 01.001.100 Update Completely Reworks Weapons, Adds New Galactic War Feature, and Changes Much More in Bid to Make the Game Easier

ign.com:

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released the long-awaited update 01.001.100, which tweaks the game balance, weapons, and stratagems as part of a significant overhaul that aims to bring lapsed fans back into the game by making it easier.

The PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter has changed anti-tank, armor penetration, health, and armor values, rebalanced weapons and stratagems, reworked enemies, tweaked Helldiver health and damage mechanics, reworked gas, added a new Galactic War feature and emote wheel feature, and fixed a long list of bugs.

The Galactic War map can now display the location of strategically important assets. Arrowhead said this will make it much easier for players to take them into consideration when deciding their next move. The new emote wheel feature lets players equip up to four emotes in the armory and access them using the new emote wheel feature by holding the emote button.

Patch 01.001.100 arrives two days before the next Premium Warbond, dubbed Chemical Agents, launches on September 19. While Chemical Agents does not include any new weapons, it adds two stratagem variants — the TX-41 Sterilizer, which lets you spray a gas at the Terminids and Automatons, and the Guard Dog's ‘Dog Breath,’ which is a corrosive gas sprayer — and, in keeping with the alien exterminator theme, the G-4 Gas grenade, which covers the whole area in a cloud of noxious fumes.

“Thank you for your valuable feedback,” Arrowhead said in the patch notes, below. “Many players have expressed feeling constrained in how they approach challenges, often relying on a limited set of tools while other options seem less effective. This has impacted your ability to play the game in a way that suits your preferences.

“So, what’s changing? For all the bugdivers out there, many situations were previously either resolved with your primary weapon or anti-tank weapons, which haven’t always performed as expected. With the overwhelming presence of Bile Titans and Chargers, many weapon choices